Number of Nurses Rises Substantially in China

The number of nurses in China has increased substantially over the past five years, with the country's longtime nurse shortage being addressed, an official of the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

China currently has nearly 2.05 million nurses, up 52 percent from that of 2005, said Guo Yanhong, vice director of the ministry's medical administration division, at a press conference.

There were about 1.52 nurses per 1,000 people in 2010, up from 1.06 five years ago, Guo said.

However, Guo said the current doctor-to-nurse ratio stood at 1 to 1.16 in 2010, still below the World Bank's proposed standard of being above 1 to 2 on average.

To improve the quality of nursing in Chinese hospitals, Guo said the ministry would launch a campaign to focus on basic nursing duties, the monitoring of patients' health and treatment and rehabilitation services.

(Source: Xinhua)